A Cloudless Sky
by FlowerOwl
Summary: Their relationship was a secret. That was the word that made her heart ache whenever she would think about those stolen glances, the moments they were able to claim for themselves, and the few seconds of normalcy. But it was their secret, and that was why Zelda would treasure every moment.


The coldness of the night air enveloped her the moment she stepped out onto the balcony, causing her to tighten her grip on the shawl she had hastily thrown over her shoulders a bit more. Had it not been for the scrap of paper she was clutching in her hand, tightly enough to make sure that it could not be dragged away by the wind, but still careful not to crease it, she would have gone back inside as she looked towards the stairs to see that she was alone out there. But Link had written that he would be there, that he would figure out a way to not make anyone question why he would leave the guards' chambers so late at night, and Zelda believed him.

So she stayed, even as the air threw her hair into her face and she had to focus on keeping her teeth from clattering loudly enough to alert the guard walking along the corridor just outside her bedroom door.

Finally, she heard the familiar sound of leaves rustling, and even though she should have known better, should have learnt by now how to keep it hidden, she could not help but smile as the top of Link's head appeared in front of her, the rest of him soon following along as he climbed even higher up, reaching up to get a better grip at the guardrail.

He knew what he was doing, there was no risk of him suddenly slipping and falling the many metres down to be met with the hard and unforgiving ground below, but that did not keep Zelda's stomach from dropping as she ran forward, throwing her arms around him and pulling upwards as quickly as she could.

"Thank you," Link breathed as he slung one leg over the rail, pausing for a moment to look back down at the ground before the other leg followed suit and he was finally standing with her on the balcony rather than having half of his body dangling over the ledge.

"Why did you not just use the stairs?" all of the words she had already prepared, lying ready on her tongue just moments before, disappeared in an instant as she gestured towards the flight of steps behind her. "That would have been safer, you know."

He shot her a lopsided grin as he reached out to take her hand. Immediately, Zelda's heart slowed down a little, just enough to let her forget all of her worries about how they were running out of time for a moment. "But then I would have risked running onto one of the guards on patrol. Trust me, this is safer. Besides, when have you ever seen me falling from anything?"

"Never," she answered.

"Exactly. And, trust me, I have no intentions of changing that just yet. Especially not when I am going to visit you."

It happened in an instant. One second they were standing on the balcony, and although Zelda knew that they would have to make up the biggest lie she had ever told if she wanted to explain what Link was doing there so late at night and why she was clutching a piece of paper with his handwriting on, telling her that he would come to her room two hours after his last patrol has ended, they would have been able to make come up with an explanation that her father would have accepted. But as she threw her arms around Link and he responded by pulling her closer as well, caressing her cheek for a moment as he looked down at her with a fond look in his eyes that Zelda would surely lose herself in someday, until she tilted her head back a little and pressed a kiss against his lips, Zelda knew that if anything was to happen, if the guard standing just a few metres away from them decided that he had to make sure the princess was still all right and barge into the room, if anyone were to look up while standing in just the right spot, no lie she could create would ever be enough to free them from the consequences of what they were doing.

Still, as they broke apart once more, Link's thumb stroking along her cheekbone, Zelda knew that even in the event that the wrong person learnt about why the princess had begun to pass by the guards' chambers so often during her walks around the castle grounds, she would not regret any of those stolen moments she and Link had been able to carve into their lives lately.

But all of that was easy for her to say. She was the princess. No matter what happened, Zelda would be protected by her title. And although Link was one of the Champions, the truth was that Zelda did not know to what extent that would be able to protect him if the truth came to light.

"And you are sure that no one will come to look for you?" she whispered, biting her lip as she rested her head against his chest.

"I am," Link said, a silent laugh apparent in his voice. To this day, Zelda could still not understand how he was able to acknowledge just what would happen the day any of them made a slight misjudgement, a mistake that would lead to someone finding out about them, and still act so carefree about the possibility, but she did not care to find out the answer. Hearing him be so sure that they were safe was enough to make most of her fears disappear and that was really all she could ask for, "I told them that I would find a secluded place to pray to the goddess. After that, my captain simply glanced towards the Master Sword and nodded at me. He will not expect me to be back for several hours."

Although Zelda nodded, willing a smile onto her face, she could tell that Link was not fooled by her simply forcing the grimace to appear, so she let the smile falter a moment later as she instead begun to fiddle with the letter in her hand.

"Did you…?" Link asked, pausing halfway through the sentence to instead pull her closer, turning around ever so slightly so that he was shielding her from the gusts of wind hitting them from the southern side of the tower. But even then, those two words were still enough to let Zelda know what he had been meaning to ask.

"No." she shook her head. "Father made me stay at the spring for the entire day. He said that my mother had already figured out how to use her powers when she was my age and that I just needed to focus to be able to manifest them, but… I prayed for hours on end, and I still do not feel any different. There is nothing there. No powers, no voices speaking to me, telling me what to do, nothing." holding a hand up in front of her, Zelda tried to imagine what it would feel like to have the powers flowing through her, and how she would direct them towards the Calamity, saving Hyrule and fulfilling the destiny that had been handed down to her the same way her mother had been given her powers. But although she tried to forget about all of the failed attempts Link had already witnessed, everything she could see was her own hand, tiny and pale, and completely helpless. "It would appear that I am only me."

If she had been more like the other Champions, if she had been a leader like Urbosa, brave like Revali, strong like Daruk, or caring like Mipha, it would not have been so difficult for her to accept the truth, that she was powerless to do anything. But Zelda was just that, and that was the fact that hurt more than anything else. She could not do anything.

"Hey, Zelda, look at me." Link's voice broke through the mountain of self-pitying thoughts that towered up in front of her, threatening to topple over if she was not careful, and as he reached out to brush against her hands, bringing them closer to himself, Zelda wished for nothing else than to be able to admit to the entire world that, had things been different, this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, destiny or not.

"Yes?"

"There is nothing 'only' about you. You are you, and that is enough."

"Not enough if I wish to stop the Calamity."

The moment the words had left her mouth, Zelda regretted them. But by then, it was too late. There was no technique, no theory about how to construct an argument that would let her reach out to pull the sounds back to herself and forget them.

Maybe it was because Link had grown up far away from the Hyrulean court, and had not been taught from an early age to hide his emotions to not let his opponents see his weaknesses that he was looking at her like that, his face completely open and honest, showing every bit of sadness that could possibly flicker across a person's face as he listened to her arguing with him. Zelda did not know the exact reasons for how Link had yet to become infected with the indifferent distance that most of the people around her seemed to place between themselves and her, nor did she care. All that mattered was the fact that he had stayed. He had kept his promise to visit her after she had returned from the spring, although she had tried to tell him how it would be wiser of him not to risk being found out, and he had stayed with her rather than leaving the minute he had seen past the façade she so carefully placed in front of herself each morning to maintain the lie of knowing what she had to do to save everyone. The princess of Hyrule was supposed to be the wisest of them all, the one who always had a plan, and yet, here Zelda was, standing on her balcony with her knight, openly admitting that she was as lost as everyone else. There was no plan; Zelda did not know what they would have to do. And that was what scared her. The princesses that had come before her had always known what to do, had always been there to give instructions to the hero, and yet here she was, leaning into Link's hug as she let him hold her and attempt to console her.

"It is." Link tucked a strand of hair that the wind had managed to grab despite his attempts to shield them both back behind her ear, rocking from side to side as he continued. "I promise you that it will be enough. I will personally make sure that it is."

Just for that one evening, Zelda let herself believe it. Had anyone other tried to tell her the same thing, to convince her that her failures would not be the thing that would doom them all in the end, she would not have listened, but as she stood there, enjoying Link's presence, she willed all of the doubts to disappear for a moment. Already, she could feel that her moment of bliss would not last forever, but for now, she could pretend that it would.

Stepping back, she nodded at Link, and tried not to let the way he lit up, beaming at her, make the years she had spent sitting behind a desk while various teachers tried to instil the importance of eloquence into her disappear in an instant. "Thank you." the words were barely more than a whisper, but Zelda knew that Link had heard them from the way he squeezed her hand. "For everything."

"There is nothing to thank me for. If anything, I should be grateful that you are letting me be up here with you."

It was an absurd idea. Zelda could not imagine a world where she would not eventually have come to let him closer to her and seen how they were more alike than she could have dared to hope for. "You are always welcome to be here with me."

"I doubt the captain would have agreed with you if he could hear you now," Link teased her.

Before Zelda got the chance to answer, they heard the sound of footsteps nearing, echoing from below the tower. While Zelda froze, too taken aback to do anything other than to reach out to grab Link's other hand, Link was quick to act.

"I am sorry, but I have to go," he said, an apologetic tone apparent in his voice as he withdrew his hands, "I guess they must have changed the schedules."

"You could stay," Zelda tried weakly, although they both knew that her suggestion was not an option, "just for a little longer. I am sure they will not think to look for you, or at the very least they will not go up here to look for you."

But Link simply shook his head, and deep down, Zelda knew that he was right already before he had as much as opened his mouth. "I truly am sorry, Zelda. I thought that I would be able to sneak back to my room later, but right now, I am not sure when I will get the chance to hide which direction I was coming from, not if I do not go right now. I am sorry."

He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. The next moment, he had turned around and swung both of his legs over the railing.

"Wait!"

Even though it could not have been much louder than their hushed conversation, Zelda's exclamation sounded incredibly loud in the quiet night.

Link turned around, sending her an expectant look.

"Yes?"

As he sat there on the ornately decorated railing, the moonlight shining down from above hitting his hair and bathing it in a light that seemed almost blue, Zelda had to swallow before she was able to force out the words.

"Will you come back?"

She was grateful that Link did not merely nod, giving her a vague answer that she would surely spend the rest of the night repeating to herself over and over again until the same voice that reminded her of the powers she should be able to use but still could not reach would have convinced her that he had not meant any of it and had only said it to make her feel better.

With a serious look in his eyes that seemed so strange for him, Link leant forwards, just enough to let his hand brush against hers for a second. "I always will."

And just like that, he turned around and was gone. If she had stepped forward, Zelda knew that she would see him just below the balcony, using the vines that grew all over the wall to reach the ground, hitting the dirt with a soft thud, and looking to each side to make sure that he had not been spotted, before he would then finally be able to make his way back to the guards' chambers. But she did not do that. Instead, Zelda stood still, and let her gaze travel upwards until she stared up at the moon that illuminated the night with its cold light.

She would have to make sure that the note from Link was destroyed before she could go to bed, but for the moment, Zelda was content to simply stand there and let herself pretend that there were no secrets and that she and Link would one day be able to stand on her balcony with the sun shining down upon them.

When she closed her eyes, she could almost see it, the image of it as clear in her head as the world around her, and Zelda did not fight the smile that slowly spread across her face.

One day, she would make it become reality.


End file.
